Theological considerations on genetic engineering

Abstract

This study begins with the consideration that genetic engineering affects the relationship between man, nature and the cosmos, as well as that between one man and another. It acknowledges the difference between biological and historical rhythms that exists because of the possibilities that man has to intervene on reality. Genetic engineering is therefore placed in the more generai "ecological crisis", through the deep philosophical roots that the author outlines. The accusations that philosophy has made against the Jewish-Christian tradition regarding the man-nature relationship are then evaluated. The study highlights and analyses how this tradition is founded not on the autonomy but on the heteronomy of man, or on the relationship between the human being and the Creator in the solidarity with the whole creation, seen in its interiority. In the light of this introduction, the genetic engineering operatioms that recognize this heteronomy as a premise, that is the respect for the centrality and the absolute value of the human person, in the dynamics of the ethics of solidarity and responsability, will be ethically acceptable.